Monday, November 8, 2010

Broadway Weekend

I'm back from a Broadway weekend in New York. All in all, it was a lot of fun! Saw a couple of good shows, got to cheer on the New York Marathon runners (albeit from afar), and enjoyed the fall weather.

Here's what we saw:

Time Stands Still: a drama starring Laura Linney as a photojournalist injured in Iraq and trying to cope with life back in the States. A very intimate portrayal of a relationship in crisis. Moving, thought-provoking, and humorous. Loved it!

Rock of Ages: A silly juke-box musical of 80's songs, glorifying the hair bands of a few decades past. Includes music by Journey, Pat Benetar, Poison, Bon Jovi, and so on. The show won't win any Pullitzer prizes, but it was great fun for people like me who grew up on those songs!

Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson: A rock musical about the life and times of our seventh president. Parts of it seemed incredibly timely, and other parts were just crass and loud. My mom HATED it, and I confess I wouldn't run out to see it again--though I did like the music a lot. I suspect the star (Benjamin Walker) is headed for big things, and someday I'll be able to say that I saw him way back when.